The Role of Household Structure on the Prevalence of Food Insecurity: A Cross Sectional Study in North West of Iran

Food is one of the basic needs of man the provision is intertwined with food security. No doubt, household's economic status has important effects on food security. Household structure may influence household's economic status and subsequently the food security of the family. This study aimed at determining the role of household age structure on household's food security. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2500 households selected from Qaresoo region in Khoy, a city in the northwest of Iran. Household food security status was measured by a validated short questionnaire including six questions. Chi-square and logistic regression were used for data analysis using SPSS software. Out of 2439 households, 991(40.4 %) were defined as food secure and the remaining 1448 (59.6%) were food insecure. There was a significant relationship between age structure of family and household food security status. Moreover, with a greater family size, the chances of food insecurity also increased. There was however no significant association between household food insecurity and the number of children (under five) and the number of elderly individuals at home Our findings indicate that food insecurity is prevalent in the northwest of Iran. Traditional residence of the newly-formed families beside the parents in the rural areas, and proper nutritional education programs especially for households with young children, can help to reduce the risk of food insecurity in the community.